Eastern Red-Cedar problem

hi all. I collected a decent redcedar recently. My suspicions were correct that I should quarantine it for the time being since it seemed that it was just telling me something was wrong with it. I don't know if its the general vigour, color, or just me being exposed to red cedars so much I can intrinstically read them. What I have been finding on one spot on the trunk are what looks like orange puss and gel looking substances. I had it beat for about 3 weeks and then it appeared in the same spots again so evidently it was not beaten. I used a solution of LS and water in my on going attempts at controlling it. dad gum it!

Mitch,
Sounds like Cedar Apple rust or a similar fungal infection. I'm not sure what can be done on the cedar end to save the tree, but definitely quarantine and thoroughly clean any tools used on it. Maybe some one will chime in with some advice to save it. It infects the crab apple trees in my yard occasionally but they only seem to be a short term host.

Todd

I do not grow or have any apple or related species as bonsai, or nearby trees. this cedar has not been touched with tools or anything. when I quarantine, I really isolate the trees tools and all.

We have many red cedars in Iowa which grow wild in ditches and pastures. Is the disease regional or does it affect cedars everywhere. I have always wanted to get one but was told by someone to stay away from them.

Mitch, all,.. forgive me for interrupting,..
get a blowtorch. ? really.
blowtorch.
Char the apple as soon as possible, being careful not to char the tree too much, as when the rust is evident it is propagating. Normally the alternate host is Hawthorn or the Ribes family, and may even be hundreds of miles from where you collected it or where you are now. the spore is airborne.

ps.. in the ones I have torched, the rust showed up again later in the fall, and was torched..
and again the next spring.. (hence, photograph the locations first to check placements for where to expect the next rust cycle)
the trees here have been free of rust for the 7th year now.
very versatile bonsai tool : blowtorch.. ... happy charring,
(pps,.. wet the tree locally first with a gentle spray ie: window cleaner bottle, torch a minute or two, wet the tree, torch again, wet the tree. go slow. When the apple is dried break off with a plastic bag and into the plastic bag. If you touch the apple, go sterilize your hands and start over. serious.) edzard

It may NOT be Cedar-Apple Rust, because its fungal growths on J. virginiana and other junipers most commonly occur on the branches and not the trunk. See: http://www.nysipm.cornell.edu/factsheets/treefruit/diseases/car/car.asp

It likely is a rust fungus, however. There are many the affect junipers. As far as I know most of them also have alternate hosts, but there may be some that don't. So isolation during treatment is a good approach.

You don't really "cure" a fungus, you control it. Professional applicators may have access to fungicides that can cure a fungal problem, but those pesticides aren't generally available to the non-licensed public.

I get these orange growths on juniper trunks every so often. I find that washing the obvious rust away, and then treating with diluted (read the label) lime sulfur usually keeps the rust away for a growing season. You may see the rust appear the following spring, or you may not. Just keep an eye on it. My trees have stayed healthy over the years.

I suspect this is the common Cedar/apple rust. I have it in some of my virginiana and blue rug junipers. The tree co exists with it just fine. I do scrape off the slime and dab with a copper fungicide or Daconil. Lenz uses alcohol and it helps kind of stop the oozing. The infection is impossible to get rid of but by not letting it form the associated galls and eventually the mature fungus spores (and practice hygiene) you can help keep it from spreading I believe.

Mitch has not specified which 'redcedar' he has: Juniperus virginiana or Thuja plicata
either way, using a telial key there are 11 rusts that infect Juniperus and related families (Ziller, 1974) with an additional 9 (Kern) that use Pyrus communis as the alternate host.
However, they are all Gymnosporangium and they are available in branch and or trunk models in various colours of uredinia and the orange to yellow models prefer Chamaecyparis nootkatensis.
Yes they can be fatal to Juniperus (sorry... ).
To control these rusts, the only requirement is to break the cycle (and wind drift etal) between the hosts.

As the rust is airborne it is difficult to tell where the alternate host is and in effect, all the washing in the world will not wash away the invisible alternate host that reinfects and is undetectable for 18 months after infection.

As eradication through chemicals is not possible, the only alternative is to remove and burn the infected parts of one of the hosts as is recommended when infected tree parts are removed from a landscape. And, like everyone, I also, do not know where the original infected alternate host is, meaning the rust may reoccur. I do wait for it every year.
As burning is a recommended solution (rather than the landfill), I simply chose not to remove the part from the tree before applying the restaurant sized blowtorch. (size of a pen: not even the size of a Dremel commonly used on bonsai)
Please, ..continue doing what you have been doing as it works for you. These are after all, your trees not mine. I was merely offering an alternative practised on valuable trees..
namaste, edzard (if anyone has any corrections to offer, please do so)

I have an Eastern Red Cedar that had spots of quince-cedar rust showing this spring. A week ago I sprayed all foliage and branches with about half of a bottle of Bonide liquid copper fungicide. Seems to have eliminated nearly all the rust as it's only really noticeable yet in a few small spots. Per instructions, I'll spray again in another half a week or so.

There are no quince near the juniper. I acquired the ERC last summer from a local nursery. It was neglected and in their island of misfits, likely set to be discarded. It was likely there it was in close proximity to a quince.

In hindsight, I should have taken some photos to share, but a simple search for quince-cedar rust will reveal exactly what I had. It's early enough in the year where it appeared as more of a dry rust like fungus on the branches and in crotches as opposed to a weeping or oozing type fungus as it does later in the season.

Hopefully this problem will only occur this spring. The tree has been through a fair amount and has thus far responded like a champ.